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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29265408">The Analgesia Initiative</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SquirrelCavalry/pseuds/SquirrelCavalry'>SquirrelCavalry</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Deceit and Subterfuge, Drug Use, Dubious Consent, M/M, Strong Language</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 13:34:54</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>12,913</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29265408</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SquirrelCavalry/pseuds/SquirrelCavalry</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After being incessantly hounded, Cloud is no longer willing to suffer the constant threat of seductive, vile attention from Sephiroth. Cloud devises a shrewd, unique plan to end his pursuer's torment for good. Things don't go as planned.</p><p>Overall premise: A fic in which Cloud attempts to incapacitate Sephiroth by tricking him to lick a sedative off of Cloud's skin.</p><p>*Note: This fic is a spin-off from Sanctified Temptation but reading Sanctified Temptation is not required for enjoying or understanding this fic.*</p><p>Special thanks to shardsofstrife for Beta reading.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Sephiroth/Cloud Strife</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>94</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>130</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Cloud Strife despondently leaned over the scattered contents upon the small table like a weary but determined tactician strategizing maneuvers for war. The plan he was formulating was absolutely <i>insane</i>, he acknowledged that, but if it worked… <i>if it worked</i>, it might just be the end of the abhorrent incarnation that haunted him.<br/>
<br/>
He was still not unquestionably sure that the articles he so intensely scoured over and studied were even legit, but he knew one thing…<br/>
<br/>
<i>He could not continue to live like this.</i><br/>
<br/>
Cloud bowed his head in grief, his fingertips dragging across the table, nails scratching and digging into the glossy veneer before they joined together in tightly clenched fists, knuckles white with strain. His eyes screwed shut with a fresh memory so dreadful that his knees weakened from its recollection; his breath hitched as he eased forward to press his nearly feverish, perspiration-licked forehead upon the cool, wooden surface.<br/>
<br/>
His ailment: a promise of ruination, a pact of subversion, a dark <i>covenant</i> of obsession that filled him with a sense of urgent apprehension every waking moment in terror of <i>his</i> impending manifestation.<br/>
<br/>
That devastating omen of depredation, that silver-haired harbinger of destruction, had marked Cloud with a single, verbal oath:<br/>
<br/>
<i>‘The moment you think upon our time and yearn, I will return. And then I will take you.  Afterwards, when you are nothing but a ruined, hollowed-out shell of your former self, desperately writhing under me, will I take even more. And you will beg me to do it. For how long can you chain your mind? I wonder.’</i><br/>
<br/>
To <i>not</i> yearn for that bastard’s ministrations should have been an easy task, but it proved to be rather difficult. And even without summoning his nemesis deliberately, his vicious tormentor would invite himself whenever he saw fit, leaving Cloud uncertain and nervous for their next impromptu confrontation. The anxiety of such encounters had built up over the days he continued to suffer, and though never once beckoning him intentionally, the threat of such a meeting was always there, always lingering, always drifting in and out of his consciousness just behind the veil of his mako-touched, troubled eyes. <i>It was maddening.</i><br/>
<br/>
With such constant lamenting peril persecuting him without end, it was impossible to relax. He had trouble eating, conversation with his companions was lax at best, sharp at worst, and ignored/unheard the remaining; he struggled to focus on their missions, he avoided eye contact with all strangers. He was fidgety, easily agitated, and flighty, and all the while, through every turn of a corner, every flash of a shadow, he anticipated with horror a drifting black feather, a bellowing leather jacket, or a flicker of silver tendrils.<br/>
<br/>
Due to his mental state deteriorating at a rapid pace, and out of desperation to give himself any sort of relief or clemency, he had decided to try something he would <i>never</i> have considered otherwise.<br/>
<br/>
During their recent time in Midgar, when the unexpected had happened, and the ground had opened to reveal a hidden Shinra research complex that had been built deep within the earth, and while exploring the harrowing environments inside, almost hidden and forgotten between giant cylinders filled with grotesque, twisted masses of mutated flesh, something had caught Cloud’s eye.<br/>
<br/>
Six tiny glass vials of shimmering lilac liquid were lined up neatly next to a medical journal. It had been benign enough, but the gently glowing, almost serene nature of the small vials against the sinister backdrop of the hideous and malignant blacks, crimsons, and neon greens had piqued his interest.<br/>
<br/>
In a brief lull of urgency, Cloud had spared the time to thumb through the journal, and although he was greeted with more complicated medical jargon than he could handle, there was a single, recent page, scribbled with something very, <i>very</i> interesting. He had ripped out that page and pocketed it along with the small flasks.<br/>
<br/>
Now, much later, and with some time to himself in a rented room, he could review what it was that he lifted from that perverse institution.<br/>
<br/>
Cloud smoothed his hands across the wrinkled piece of paper that had been crumpled in his pocket for far too long, flattening it firmly up against the table so that he could fully ponder its secrets.<br/>
<br/>
His eyes tried not to glaze over in mystification as he read part of the entry out loud:<br/>
<br/>
<i>“The formula attached is a type of central nervous system depressant that interacts with brain function causing its deceleration, producing relaxing effects by increasing the activity of the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid, whose principal role is reducing neuronal excitability throughout the nervous system.”</i><br/>
<br/>
Irritated and confused, he ran a hand through locks of saffron.<br/>
<br/>
“What the hell am I even reading?” he puffed out with ire.<br/>
<br/>
Clearly, he was out of his element, but as he was not a complete moron, nor one to give up too easily, he continued to pour his attention over the document until he was able to piece together some semblance of understanding.<br/>
<br/>
If he were reading things correctly, in his possession were six vials of what appeared to be a very potent combination of tranquilizer and sedative, that used in a high enough dose, could lead to general anesthesia. It made sense for something like this to be in the Shinra lab considering what horrible experimentation they conducted daily. Between deformed, towering monsters just aching to break free to run havoc, and defiant, enhanced, and bitter humans capable of leaving destruction and ruin in their wake, it was a wonder why every Shinra infantryman did not carry a case containing this formula preloaded into projectile darts.<br/>
<br/>
Now with such a powerful tool at his disposal, Cloud struggled with exactly how he could use it to his benefit. The detailed notes regarding the formula’s preferred administering method suggested inhalation of aromatics as the vector of choice, but Cloud had zero access to a respirator, or an inhalator, or anything of that nature, so that method had to be out. The second suggestion was injection, causing him to twist his face in disapproval. He could not even scratch his foe most of the time, so how was he to manage a perfect injection right into a vein?<br/>
<br/>
The third and final application method possible was the least preferred due to its waning potency and thus was not recommended.<br/>
<br/>
Cloud slammed his fist upon the table in frustration, causing the little vials to jump and skitter about with the vibrations.<br/>
<br/>
<i>Damnit… this is not going to work.</i><br/>
<br/>
Defeated, he hung his head in resignation, and for a long moment, wallowed in his failure.<br/>
<br/>
<i>Wait…</i><br/>
<br/>
Cloud slowly straightened his back with a budding epiphany and growing resolve. His eyes flashed to the third administering method: <i>ingestion.</i><br/>
<br/>
Fingers began drumming quickly upon the table as a plan started developing in his mind with all the excitement and furor of a building thunderstorm.<br/>
<br/>
If the third method was not as effective as the others, he will just have to make up for that with heavier doses. He had six vials to work with, that had to be enough… surely.<br/>
<br/>
Soon, an absolutely insane scheme was highlighted so keenly in his thoughts, that he could almost see them happening in real-time, and it drove him fervidly onward to see it to fruition.<br/>
<br/>
But the ruse had to be <i>perfect</i> or it would fail catastrophically.<br/>
<br/>
Cloud promptly strode into the bathroom before his knitted sweater was yanked off eagerly, exposing his tone, milky chest. Aside from his heavy trousers and boots, all his other equipment and articles had already been removed earlier. The shower was quickly turned on, and without delay, he submerged just his head in the cascade of water droplets. Blonde spikes were weighed down and clung to his forehead and cheeks with the excess water running small streams down sculpted shoulders, along with defined dips and valleys of his abdomen, to then pool and be absorbed into the seam of his pants.<br/>
<br/>
He wanted to have the illusion that he had just showered, and not draw suspicion from <i>him </i>that liquid still clung to his skin in vital areas.<br/>
<br/>
A bottle of potion was dumped rapidly down the sink, its crimson liquid circling the drain then vanishing. The empty container was thoroughly rinsed out before a single vial of purple, gleaming liquor was poured within.<br/>
<br/>
The glowing color of the drug was too obvious, too striking. Despite its already weakened potency due to the application method, Cloud had no choice but to dilute it further, or else <i>he</i> would notice. He was hoping even the smallest amount could falter and weaken his nemesis enough for a heavier, second dose to be <i>forced</i> into him.<br/>
<br/>
Tap water chased the purple liquid into the bulbous glass, and with a few swirls, the drug diffused throughout the water, leaving it just barely tainted the slightest of purple, crystalline enough to pass inspection, he prayed.<br/>
<br/>
Cloud took in a long, deep breath and eased it out in slow, shuddered rasps, trying almost hopelessly to calm his jittery nerves.<br/>
<br/>
<i>It is time.</i><br/>
<br/>
He tilted his head forward and delicately decanted the bottle. A gentle stream of liquid pattered upon the back of his neck; tiny tributaries flowed over prickling flesh, leaving small, plump beads quivering across his shoulders and spine that were waiting to be savored. Cloud rolled his head to the sides as the drug poured over him, collecting drops in the crevices of his clavicles, and raining streamlets down his front to flow around taut muscles, leaving streaks behind to be tasted by his oppressor.<br/>
<br/>
Cloud’s actions caused him to shiver in anticipation, knowing full well what danger he was putting himself in. His eyes raised to be met by the same that reflected from the mirror before him, intently inspecting his preparation. He was a fitting offering, a sacrifice to a spiteful deity, dripping with a sinful concoction, and ready to be devoured.<br/>
<br/>
Now for the difficult part, the <i>summoning</i>, the requirement that Cloud dreaded nearly as much as the results themselves. He had to yearn for the other’s touch, and for it to be sincere. After so long denying such a horrifying notion, having to do it willingly brought him a new dimension of disgust and trepidation.<br/>
<br/>
He leaned forward upon the sink, pressing nearly his entire weight into the porcelain structure that creaked and groaned its disapproval. His thoughts drifted back with purpose to the dark covenant that silver-haired demon cursed him with, and the sultry, forbidden events that lead to those venomous, vindictive, and <i>voracious</i> words being uttered.<br/>
<br/>
At first, his spirit rebelled and it was all Cloud could do to beat back the resistance of his own mind that struggled to yield to such a shameful act. But he pressed on with abandon, shattering through his own barriers, pulling out disgraceful and wicked secret desires from the recesses of his subconscious until covetous thoughts of <i>him</i> focused, became clearer, and then were highlighted with utmost longing.<br/>
<br/>
He remembered with unbridled eagerness those hands upon him, stroking him, teasing him, controlling and demanding and dominating him.<br/>
<br/>
A low, heady, and heavy moan eased out from a captivated and infatuated Cloud. This was not an act; it did not have to be. <i>He yearned for him.</i><br/>
<br/>
A soft whisper mewled from Cloud with unfulfilled desire, <i>“Sephiroth.”</i><br/>
<br/>
His knees nearly gave out from the sudden onslaught of need that wracked his body that was instigated by the rush of a chilled current, a herald to his cruel god returning. But this time was different than the times before. There was no searing, agonizing headache, no glitches, no static nor truncated voices. This time, there was only elation, <i>only rapture.</i><br/>
<br/>
Was he being rewarded?<br/>
<br/>
His entire body instantly relaxed in euphoria as strong, leather-clad arms wrapped around his soaked form, drawing him away from the sink and into an impossibly strong and robust, muscular frame of unrivaled power and elegant grace.<br/>
<br/>
The embrace was so gentle, so nurturing, so devoid of malice that it was only when the other laid claim to Cloud’s jawline and raised his vision up to the mirror, that he could confirm that it was indeed his rival that possessed him. Cloud’s reflection was practically jarring – a submissive, willing gift, half unwrapped already, arms hung lifeless by his sides; his docile, prone body open, passive, and obedient to the other’s every whim.<br/>
<br/>
Meek pools of wavering blue edged up to meet domineering and obsessed sharp slits embedded in sea green that stared at him with covetous desire through the mirror’s reflection.<br/>
<br/>
<i>“Hello, Cloud,”</i> said softly as teeth lowered delicately into the cartilage of Cloud’s ear.<br/>
<br/>
An eager whine of acceptance bayed from the younger man as he leaned into that attention while exposing the areas where he <i>wanted</i> his tormentor to partake.<br/>
<br/>
Despite the overwhelming ecstasy of that man’s presence, Cloud could not afford to lose sight of what he was aiming to do.<br/>
<br/>
As if moving to meet Cloud’s hinted, but unspoken prurience, Sephiroth’s attention focused upon his prize’s sodden collarbone, dipping his tongue into the tender slopes, and lapping up and across Cloud’s shoulder in carnal lasciviousness.<br/>
<br/>
<i>That’s right… you lustful, greedy bastard. Drink it. Drink it all!</i><br/>
<br/>
At first, he was fearful that the silver lech would perceive that the liquid coating his toy tasted troubling, but apparently, he was so enamored by ravaging his prize that the slight tang went unnoticed.<br/>
<br/>
Cloud watched, smitten, his captor’s tongue drag over those droplets awaiting him like a welcoming trail that led to the nape of his neck where Sephiroth latched gently his lips and suckled with avarice.<br/>
<br/>
A long, drawn-out moan was teased from Cloud as a result; his back flexing briefly into an inkling of an arch that pressed firmly into that unmovable, iron-wrought chest behind him, winning him a deep, amused chuckle that rumbled in the throat of the other.<br/>
<br/>
Sephiroth then shuffled his position in order to lavish attention on Cloud’s opposing shoulder and collarbone while softly sighing in genial contentment and fulfillment; such an honest, <i>pure reaction</i> surprised Cloud.<br/>
<br/>
As before, he gave him no resistance, becoming a malleable treat for Sephiroth to savor and enjoy; and all the while his benefactor gave nothing but amiable and gracious attention, Cloud was scheming his violent demise.<br/>
<br/>
Then something changed: a pained shudder, a labored pant, the other stalled abruptly. It was so rare to see Sephiroth in any sort of discomfort, for any expression to pass his divine features except assertive arrogance, snide contempt, or smirking dominance.<br/>
<br/>
Sephiroth dropped his left hand from Cloud to steady himself on the bathroom sink.<br/>
<br/>
A little impatient whine was huffed from Cloud to spur the man on once again. He had not swallowed nearly enough of the drug to be compromised; Sephiroth needed to ingest <i>much</i> more.<br/>
<br/>
“My, so anxious,” Sephiroth whispered; his usual indomitable baritone voice took on a tired and weakened quality.<br/>
<br/>
<i>It was working.</i><br/>
<br/>
Cloud’s heart raced even faster with excitement as he witnessed the beginnings of his trap enclosing around prey that <i>should be impossible</i> to ensnare.<br/>
<br/>
<i>I’m right here! Take what you want!</i> He silently urged.<br/>
<br/>
<i>Ignore the warning signs at your peril!</i><br/>
<br/>
Much to Cloud’s delight, Sephiroth lowered his lips back to his skin, hungrily lapping the glaze of liquid resting there, and Cloud did his part to encourage his molester: wantonly writhing his smaller hips up against the fabric of the other, whispering and moaning little prayers and pleas up into the man’s ear, quivering with lust and caliginous, incomplete passion, but all the while, inwardly smiling with a hidden agenda.<br/>
<br/>
<i>You’re done, you bastard.</i></p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Cloud did not stifle an eager gasp of delight as perfect rows of ivory gingerly sunk into his shoulder, nipping tiny indentations of possession then lapping repetitively over the mark as if solidifying his brand of ownership. That gasp hitched into a cry of exaltation as the skin was then drawn up into an eager, warm embrace, suckling greedily upon that spot until the skin flushed with broken capillaries.<br/>
<br/>
This focused and centralized attention traveled up the length of Cloud’s shoulder, and everything within that man’s reach was fair game to be ravaged. Uncompromising teeth claimed clavicle, neck, and even the upper portion of a pectoral muscle of which had Cloud howling in both the pain and the pleasure of such sweet torture.<br/>
<br/>
A part of Cloud wanted Sephiroth to hurry and drink in as much poison as possible, but a more salacious and hungry part of him wanted the sensual rush to continue indefinitely.<br/>
<br/>
Sephiroth’s left hand gripped the sink none too gently, causing hairline fractures to split along the porcelain and faux marble – clearly an indication that something was affecting him.<br/>
<br/>
Throughout the erotic and impassioned onslaught, Cloud noticed his captor was putting more and more weight on the blonde, making it increasingly difficult every passing moment not to lean forward due to the growing pressure. Sephiroth’s mass was rather significant compared to Cloud’s much smaller build, making the taller man’s waxing weakness and reliance upon Cloud’s support very noticeable.<br/>
<br/>
Was this due to the drug?<br/>
<br/>
Bulky silver and white pauldrons painfully dug into Cloud’s back as Sephiroth’s posture became compromised, but even so, the demon continued to reticently lavish attention upon his property.<br/>
<br/>
Did he not notice his abating strength?! Did he not care? Was he so transfixed? Perhaps the drug confused and intoxicated him.<br/>
<br/>
Cloud found this as a golden opportunity to close the hatch slowly and carefully to his trap. Sephiroth had become rather dependent upon Cloud – the gentle repositioning as Cloud turned around in his arms and walked him backward a few steps, causing Sephiroth to stagger listlessly into Cloud, was more than enough proof to this.<br/>
<br/>
<i>Move! Go!!! He is stunned, now is your chance!</i><br/>
<br/>
His urging brain almost spasmed with furor, but he had to be mindful not to alert the other that anything was amiss. Who is to say that the spiteful god could not get a spark of power in his urgency?<br/>
<br/>
<i>No, no. Slowly and carefully… slow… and careful…</i><br/>
<br/>
It was almost impossible to calm his fluttering heartbeat as Cloud delicately maneuvered the silver-haired former General towards the wall immediately next to the sink, of which Sephiroth’s grasp never left; his reliance upon it only increasing as his back leaned up against the solid structure behind him. Once positioned, Sephiroth slowly slid down a few inches, causing his armor to grind into the wall with an offensive scraping sound.<br/>
<br/>
Incredibly, Sephiroth never once halted his kisses upon Cloud’s skin, but now they were very gentle, lulled brushes of lips.<br/>
<br/>
While the other man was still enamored, Cloud reached into his pocket to retrieve a vial of purple liquid. Cloud opened then kicked it back, emptying the contents on his own tongue, careful not to accidentally swallow even a single drop; he was worried of the effects the drug may have on him. It had a subdued sweet taste – not at all overpowering, nor chemically off-putting, despite its unnatural appearance. No wonder Sephiroth had not noticed its flavor.<br/>
<br/>
Sephiroth slid down the wall another few inches, catching himself just barely with a trembling left hand whose fingertips were now embedded into cracked porcelain. For once in his life, Cloud was just as ‘tall’ as his tormentor. With the tenderness of a lover, Cloud nuzzled Sephiroth’s cheek with his, then applied just the slightest of pressures so that the other man would disengage from his shoulder. Sephiroth drifted from Cloud’s skin with the softest of sighs giving Cloud a good look at his eyes that had rolled briefly up into lowered lids.<br/>
<br/>
<i>Oh…</i><br/>
<br/>
Once thin and intense sharp pupils were now dilated into lazy, unfocused, and wide ovals of relaxed comfort.<br/>
<br/>
He could have stared at this incredible sight all day, but the payload in his mouth was tingling his tongue and starting to make him nervous. He needed to deposit it quickly.<br/>
<br/>
The captor nearly turned captive slid down another inch. Cloud now took the height advantage. Supporting Sephiroth’s deteriorating form and sagging weight with his right arm, Cloud snaked his left hand behind the other man’s head and gently submerged his fingers into silky, white tresses, then slowly… <i>oh so slowly</i>, canted backward. Sephiroth yielded without so much as a quiver, as if his mind were foggy in a dream state and this was precisely what was supposed to happen.<br/>
<br/>
<i>Exactly, stay calm and content… there is nothing scary or urgent here, Sephiroth. This is nothing that you did not already want.</i><br/>
<br/>
Locks of platinum cascaded over the entire length of Cloud’s left arm as Sephiroth’s head was tilted backward. Gradually did Cloud lower himself towards the other, explicitly careful not to make any sudden movements that might jar his willing participant. Lips brushed against the other’s tentatively, then he stalled for a moment, enraptured by how warm and supple they were. Cloud hesitated in sheer amazement of his own courage before pressing onward, deepening their connection as lips joined more readily. He was initially concerned that Sephiroth was too prideful to give him access, but that apparently was a non-issue as the other was accommodating, opening himself ardently for invasion.<br/>
<br/>
The small amount of liquid Cloud stored in his mouth was already at body temperature, thus mingling it with his own saliva and passing it to Sephiroth should be possible without his notice. Boldly, Cloud licked his tongue into the man’s waiting mouth, and with it, a minuscule dose of gifted venom was exchanged. Eagerly, he followed up again, this time driving deep into Sephiroth’s mouth and depressing the other’s tongue aggressively with his own while forcing a purple streamlet to flow down the back of his throat.<br/>
<br/>
He had been too ambitious too quickly.<br/>
<br/>
This was the beginning of things going horribly awry. Sephiroth must have noticed the negligible sweet taste to the tonic. Green eyes snapped open and focused with fierce intensity as they glared dangerously at Cloud.<br/>
<br/>
<i>I fucked up!!!</i><br/>
<br/>
Sensing the tension rapidly building, Cloud knew he had only a split second before it all fell apart. With one powerful surge, he unloaded the rest of the sedative vigorously from his mouth and into Sephiroth’s before he was brutally ripped from the embrace by a hand wrapped savagely around his neck.<br/>
<br/>
Then Cloud was airborne; the world spinning chaotically until he collided with the wall on the far end of the room so hard, a blinding light flashed followed by darkness etching across his vision. He crumbled like a dry, brittle cracker, sinking into a mound on the floor in a total daze.<br/>
<br/>
A long moment later, after fighting back unconsciousness, Cloud managed to blink away the blurred outlines to see the once majestic form of Sephiroth on his hands and knees, distraught, his armor quivering and clanking as he violently heaved, purple liquid sputtering from him, intermingling with errant locks of hair, and dripping to the ground with a strangled series of pained gasps.<br/>
<br/>
<i>No! Oh no, you don't!</i><br/>
<br/>
Finding the vigor to propel himself forward, Cloud picked up a chair and threw it at the man with all his enhanced strength, hoping to prevent him from vomiting out everything that Cloud had labored so strenuously to accomplish.<br/>
<br/>
Cloud realized too late that his action was a foolish one. In one moment, that hurled chair soared through the air with an immense amount of purchase, the next moment, it absolutely disintegrated into a spray of fine particles as an ebony wing was unleashed, and with it, the overwhelming power of ascendancy.<br/>
<br/>
A vicious shockwave of massive intensity blasted across the room with a scattering of black feathers – the near-divine current ripped, shredded, and splintered apart anything and everything around it before kicking up those broken fragments into a swirling, deadly vortex of energy.<br/>
<br/>
Cloud was knocked clean off his feet to slam back into the wall so grievously, that his body ruptured the integrity of the structure, being torn backward through plaster, wood, and brick until his limp collection of limbs rolled across the floor of the unoccupied, adjacent room he exploded into; his battered form finally coming to a stop in a littering of fractured debris.<br/>
<br/>
He blacked out momentarily, then came to with a jarring jolt and a low wail of pain. Blood poured out of a myriad of injuries, pattering upon the floor before him as he choked on the very air, forcing his spasming diaphragm to grant him oxygen, but it faltered and convulsed, leaving Cloud to helplessly writhe in the agony of his wounds and the fear of suffocation.<br/>
<br/>
After a moment languishing in distress, he was able to breathe again and quickly shot up his eyes to look through the cavity in the wall his collision had created. In the other room, disoriented and savagely irate, Sephiroth struggled to walk in a straight line. He had attempted to stalk to where Cloud lay practically pulverized, but he had gone clumsily off course, awkwardly stumbling in a diagonal until he wobbly collapsed upon a bookshelf.<br/>
<br/>
Sephiroth clawed at the shelving to support his weight, knocking over books, and shattering displayed trinkets in his rush to find stability. His breathing was irregular and erratic, his frame heaved with the effort; his wing drooped, and its feathers looked disheveled; he seemed delirious and confused; his eyes were heavily lidded, unfocused, and dull, and yet despite all this, he still had the presence of mind to know that he was becoming unraveled and losing control.<br/>
<br/>
<i>Good, I hope it scares you, you bastard, knowing that you are close to being helpless, with me holding dominion over you.</i><br/>
<br/>
Cloud clutched at the ground with his marred hands, laboriously dragging himself towards the opening in the wall. He was banking that his own body would heal faster than Sephiroth’s body could detoxify the tranquilizer, but he really could not be sure. He needed to put another dose in him to solidify that man’s downfall. With a sharp pain reminding him that he was still injured, Cloud twisted his hand to dive into his pocket, fishing for a vial – he should still have four. What he pulled out was a handful of sharp glass shards coated with spoiled anesthetic.<br/>
<br/>
<i>Shit!!!</i><br/>
<br/>
In a panic, his eyes darted around for another plan, but he did not have to search long, for within his room, where Cloud had once stood, rested upon the floor an undamaged vial of glowing purple. It must have jostled from his pocket when he tumbled out of the room. Sephiroth caught sight of it the same time he did, and unfortunately for Cloud, his nemesis was closer, but fortunately for Cloud, Sephiroth staggered when he attempted to walk, stumbling over himself before leaning up against the nearby wall with his forearm.<br/>
<br/>
Cloud already felt some of his vitality returning and he was finally able to pull himself to a stand, though he felt unsteady and he walked with a heavy limp. His left leg dragged rather unresponsively behind him as he practically toppled over the gaping fissure that separated the two rooms.<br/>
<br/>
He spilled upon the floor with a heavy moan, the jostling forcing him to remove his gaze from his enemy for only a split second, which quickly proved to be a dangerous endeavor. Sephiroth had summoned Masamune in his left hand, and before Cloud even had time to recover from his tumble, a vicious swipe landed squarely on Cloud’s right shoulder, slashing deep into the muscle, and ripping a scream from the younger man.<br/>
<br/>
Like a wounded, frightened animal, Cloud scrambled away from the katana’s reach. His hasty steps crunched a multitude of keratin shafts under his combat boots; <i>there were feathers everywhere.</i> It only took a few steps to be out of range of Masamune considering Sephiroth did not give chase; his right forearm still pressed to the wall, but even so, in this small room, Sephiroth’s weapon had daunting reach, making him more than capable of delivering blows and frustrating Cloud’s advances towards the vial, even with their lengthy distance apart.<br/>
<br/>
So, Sephiroth was playing goalkeeper – <i>fine.</i> Cloud will just have to barrel his way through the other’s defense.<br/>
<br/>
Though blood oozed from the gash in his shoulder and it stung terribly, his leg was already feeling better, the limp less pronounced. With Sephiroth apparently too afflicted to deviate from his perched position against the wall, it gave Cloud ample time to retrieve his own weapon that was leaning in a far corner, and before long, Twin Stinger was snugly in his hands.<br/>
<br/>
He glared heatedly at his nemesis, enjoying how disarrayed he looked, and feeling an immense amount of pride knowing that Sephiroth was reacting to a threat he perceived as dangerous, a threat that Cloud had devised.<br/>
<br/>
<i>Where is that smug indifference, Sephiroth?</i><br/>
<br/>
Cloud wanted to taunt his oppressor for once, he was feeling very confident and capable at that moment, rapidly recovering his strength and stamina while Sephiroth looked like he was steadily declining; but he had to remind himself not to get arrogant and too assured of victory. The battle was not yet won.<br/>
<br/>
He figured Sephiroth was biding his time, trying to stall in hopes that he recovered while preventing Cloud from applying any additional drug. The realization of how satisfying this scenario was suddenly hit him – compelling Sephiroth to play defensive for once, literally backing him up into a corner, forcing him to respond reactively to Cloud’s advances and strategies; it sent an excited and extremely gratifying surge of thrill up Cloud’s spine. He lightly shivered with the electrifying pleasure of it as he stalked towards Sephiroth with Twin Stinger at the ready, analyzing the best path to approach.<br/>
<br/>
The vial was still a good distance away from Cloud with Sephiroth’s striking range separating them, but thankfully, the man had previously fumbled his way out of reach of crushing that dainty glass container with a swipe from his weapon. He probably regrets that.<br/>
<br/>
Thinking strategically, there was a chance that he did not even need that last intact vial at all. Sephiroth might be so weakened as he was, that Cloud could land a decisive blow. While it was true that he was injured – Cloud was not even close to being in his top form right now – Sephiroth looked even worse comparatively.<br/>
<br/>
<i>Time to find out.</i><br/>
<br/>
Cloud was unable to run; he would have preferred to charge at his foe, but instead, he walked with intense purpose and tenacity, although with a faint limp. Ignoring the vial that lay off to the side, he took a straight line to Sephiroth, and with conviction, brandished Twin Stinger in a solid, capable, and proficient double grip.<br/>
<br/>
<i>Retribution.</i></p><p><br/>
<br/>
-=End Notes=-<br/>
I wanted the reader to experience lots of different emotions while reading this fic, like a little roller coaster of assorted feels. I hope that has been successful so far. More surprises to come!<br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Cloud’s mobility was severely hindered – his once grievously wounded leg was on the mend, but it still refused to fully cooperate – reducing his agility and preventing him from going on an all-out onslaught upon his foe. He grimaced with both the pain of the multitude of slowly healing lacerations across his body and the grievance of his diminished fighting capacity. His posture and stance were compromised, his entire body afflicted with malady, his vision impaired due to the tumult of his twice collision, but his determination never once dwindled as he closed the distance between himself and his quarry.<br/>
<br/>
The indignation of his dire predicament was alleviated by the acute satisfaction of seeing Sephiroth brought so low. He had never once witnessed his enemy struggle as such – to be so completely disarrayed and deteriorating by the second.<br/>
<br/>
Sephiroth was constantly applying an immense amount of effort and concentration to just stay standing. His legs periodically shuddered with duress, forcing him to plunge the fingers of his right hand into the wall for support, imbedding them deep into splintering wood and crumbling plaster. His tattered, quivering wing sloughed off excessive feathers like an expedited molt. He breathed in labored, oscillating gasps that jostled his armor. His head hung weakly, causing hair to messily drape over his features, veiling everything except a single unfocused and glazed emerald eye that hazily gleamed out from between silver tangles. But despite his languish and regression, Sephiroth’s blade never once wavered in his left hand, as if focusing every last ounce of his remaining fortitude into his left arm at the expense of everything else.<br/>
<br/>
<i>If you can’t beat him now, you’re a useless piece of shit. He’s shutting down! Go!!!</i><br/>
<br/>
Driven to a near frenzy by the urgency of his mind, Cloud sprang towards Sephiroth while brandishing Twin Stinger, his blade arching through the air in a powerful strike. The way his foe was sluggishly leaning his side against the wall exposed his entire back, making it the perfect target for Cloud’s offense.<br/>
<br/>
Blazing orange sparks erupted from the forceful contact of two metals as Masamune intercepted and locked Cloud’s advance in place despite Cloud throwing everything he had behind the weight of his weapon.<br/>
<br/>
<i>Still so strong?!</i><br/>
<br/>
Sephiroth may have been nearly paralyzed against the wall, but he was clearly compensating for his lack of maneuverability with increased power.<br/>
<br/>
Cloud’s mind reeled with the realization that his enemy was still capable, but did not have time for any other epiphanies, as the opposite pressure against Twin Stinger increased rapidly, and once again, Cloud’s world spun chaotically. He was thrown through the air with tremendous velocity, crashing into the door to the room – its meager structure not designed to withstand such forces – causing it and the adjacent walls to explode outwards, along with Cloud, to the outside environment like a bomb detonation. Cloud’s limp body collided with the unforgiving earth like a meteorite, kicking up a considerable amount of dust, dirt, and debris, while leaving a car sized crater along with a significant trail of skid marks that extended well past the initial area of impact, at the end of which lay a seizing, broken Cloud.<br/>
<br/>
Every muscle convulsed to failure as Cloud tore himself up to perch onto blemished forearms. Nausea overcame him; his ruined body heaved a torrent of blood that deluged dark, gelatinous clots, splattering upon his spasming fists, and bruised, scored arms. The mangled gashes and serrated splits that covered his body hemorrhaged bright crimson as he slowly, and painfully, dug hands into the hard soil, one after the other, and dragged dead weight blindly forward.<br/>
<br/>
<i>Fuck… me… Get… up… Sword… where… is it?</i><br/>
<br/>
Even as delirious through the shock and agony as Cloud was, he was weakly aware of how important it was to find his weapon. Twin Stinger had Curaga materia slotted – how could he forget? He should have used it earlier – but his sword was not with him now; it had been flung some distance once he brutally contacted the ground.<br/>
<br/>
<i>Where…</i><br/>
<br/>
Cloud’s vision was barely functioning – ominous blacks and lustrous whites fought for dominance over the blurry, jumbled filter settling upon his world. But even so, he caught a glimpse of his weapon, the beautiful, fused double broadsword laying a dozen feet from his location. So close, but a universe away.<br/>
<br/>
Trembling fingers spread into the dirt, pawing it into the raw skin of his palm before he jerked back to lurch his body forward. Over and over, he dragged himself towards his downed weapon. Every breath that he greedily swallowed burned his taxed lungs and agitated his shattered ribs; every inch that Cloud managed to slowly haul his battered form left an ugly red streak in his wake. He was numb all over; he could not feel his legs – his spine was likely broken – a grievous injury his body struggled to mend.<br/>
<br/>
A crunch of rubble drew his disoriented attention. Foggy blue eyes lifted to his left to see Sephiroth perched in the ruined doorway like an enraged, dark angel of wrath.<br/>
<br/>
<i>Shit!</i><br/>
<br/>
With a surge of terror and fervor, Cloud pushed onward with reckless abandon. He was nearly within arm’s reach of Twin Stinger. His body screamed at him to take a breather, to rest, but he could not with his nemesis readying an attack.<br/>
<br/>
A coalescence of devastating energy charged down the length of Masamune before that elegant weapon cut through the air like a graceful harbinger of destruction. That long, curved motion brought with it a blinding, white crescent that burst forth into existence and ripped through the wind like divine retribution. However, that large, powerful swing threw Sephiroth’s already shaky stance off balance, and he collapsed against the dilapidated wall, causing his assault to be unleashed a few degrees too soon. That thin line of searing intensity tore a trajectory towards Cloud, but slammed short of him, gashing a hideous and impossibly deep crevice into the ground, and carried on further still, demolishing everything in its path, until a distant building rumbled then collapsed in a pyre of smoke and dust.<br/>
<br/>
<i>He missed!</i><br/>
<br/>
Cloud was just as surprised as he was infinitely relieved. That gaping, faintly smoking wound in the charred earth before him was traversed by a shaking hand that reached out and victoriously claimed the hilt of Twin Stinger.<br/>
<br/>
He immediately called upon his weapon’s magical potential and was instantly enveloped in a soothing, healing embrace as the Curaga materia rejuvenated his multiple injuries. Sensation returned to his legs, his vision cleared, and his strength returned, but at a cost. Due to the immense severity of his physical trauma, Twin Stinger’s Curaga had depleted him. He was now unable to use that materia nor any other materia again for some time. But that would not matter once Sephiroth lay defeated at his feet.<br/>
<br/>
Another attack was inbound. He felt it even before seeing it, and now with unhindered speed and stamina, Cloud intercepted the shimmering sickle of energy that was flung at him with minimal effort. He easily cleaved it in two, leaving its severed beams of light to travel beyond him, slicing through a myriad of obstacles and leaving dirty clouds of annihilation in long streaks across the province.<br/>
<br/>
As soon as the threat passed, he slightly lowered his weapon to glare heatedly over it at his foe that once again lingered in the obliterated doorway.<br/>
<br/>
<i>Time to end this.</i><br/>
<br/>
With a sudden kick up of dust, Cloud rapidly propelled himself forward, covering that large span of distance between them with blistering speed. At the end of his blitz was a vicious lunge with the tip of his weapon that he attempted to drive straight into Sephiroth.<br/>
<br/>
<i>Cross-slash!!</i><br/>
<br/>
A flurry of three blows followed, each slicing in sharp angles and leaving behind a burning gash of blazing fire to endure in the air, forming an ominous symbol of misfortune that lingered like a death sentence upon his nemesis.<br/>
<br/>
<i>Did I… did I get him?!</i><br/>
<br/>
Masamune seemed to answer his mind’s question as it sliced straight through the symbol, disintegrating it, of which Cloud scrambled to block lest he be severely incapacitated.<br/>
<br/>
<i>Fuck!</i><br/>
<br/>
The heavy sound of metal impact resonated within the crumbling room that was followed by another, and then another as Sephiroth laid into Cloud with massively powerful strikes.<br/>
<br/>
Cloud rarely felt Sephiroth’s blows connect so hard; it was all Cloud could do to keep himself from not being flung into the air with each blocked offense.<br/>
<br/>
Thoughts raced through his mind: perhaps this was Sephiroth’s actual strength – the man previously just toying with Cloud during their skirmishes because he never actually felt threatened – or perhaps Sephiroth was for once on the flagging end of an encounter and his trepidation of a potential loss was surging him heightened capacity, either way, Sephiroth was on the throes of defeat but Cloud, despite his best efforts, and his immense frustration of being continuously thwarted, was unable to land the definitive killing blow.<br/>
<br/>
<i>Damnit! You bastard! Why can’t I hit you?! Just die already!</i><br/>
<br/>
The last of Masamune’s swings connected with Twin Stinger with enough vigor to force Cloud to skid backward on his feet across the entire room. At the end of his momentum, he dropped to a knee out of breath, gasping eagerly as he fiercely scowled at that demon in black. Then something caught his eye. That small, intact purple vial was directly to his left, so close that he almost crushed it with his boot.<br/>
<br/>
He had never picked up anything so fast in his entire life.<br/>
<br/>
With vial in hand, a new plan was forming.<br/>
<br/>
<i>Fine. I know what you want, you sick, sadistic vulture, and I’m going to give it to you.</i><br/>
<br/>
He sprinted at Sephiroth like a man possessed, wildly thrusting his weapon in a one-handed heavy plunge. As expected, Sephiroth was ready to parry, and by the way Cloud opened himself up, moved to do so just how Cloud hoped. Sparks dazzled like miniature fireworks as Masamune traveled down the length of Twin Stinger, pivoted to thwart Cloud’s weapon off mark, and then gored with savage purpose, violently puncturing flesh below the sternum and impaling straight though until a good portion of Masamune jettisoned out of Cloud’s back like a viscera-dripping war standard.<br/>
<br/>
Cloud instantly blacked out; his body hanging lifelessly upon the blade that so mercilessly skewered him. Both hands relaxed causing the hefty Twin Stinger to slip free then clang noisily upon the ground. That small vial that had been clutched tightly in his left hand also began to loosen, threatening to fall and shatter upon the floor, but before it completely rolled from fingertips, Cloud jostled to consciousness, his fingers weakly curling instinctually back around the glass tube.<br/>
<br/>
His mind slowly lulled back awake; his eyes fluttered deep under lids before they rolled from underneath and focused with sharp awareness.<br/>
<br/>
<i>I knew… you couldn’t… resist…</i><br/>
<br/>
Cloud was critically injured, but with triumph literally within arm’s reach, he pushed past the wrenching agony, dragged his right arm forward, and with monumental effort, clutched hard upon that blade, slicing open his hand to bleed streams down the weapon before lurching himself forward with a powerful tug. Cloud screamed from the anguish of such an action, a combination of shear affliction and robust fury, as his body slid down the remaining segment of Masamune with a sickening wet sound, leaving behind fresh crimson to sprinkle like rain from nearly the entire length of the blade – his progress was only halted once his chest met Masamune’s guard.<br/>
<br/>
Sephiroth looked astonished, despite having seen this before, giving Cloud time to muster his last remaining strength before he feared his body might revolt and punish him with darkness again. His right hand that had been clutching Masamune disengaged before clamping down on Sephiroth’s left wrist, then with a surprising amount of reserved fortitude, shoved him aggressively up against the wall with enough force to crack the infrastructure.<br/>
<br/>
<i>Who has who pinned, Sephiroth?</i><br/>
<br/>
Cloud no longer had the dexterity to remove the topper to the vial, he instead shoved his thumb across the cork so roughly, that the entire upper portion shattered off. Sephiroth tried to stop him, reaching out to wrench that vial free from Cloud’s hand, but Cloud ferociously backhanded Sephiroth’s hand away before kicking back the vial greedily. His nemesis countered by twisting the blade imbedded in Cloud’s gut, and truth be told, he nearly vomited out all that purple liquid from the severe pain, but he managed to hold it in with a sharp, muffled moan, though perhaps swallowing some, he was not sure, he was barely thinking straight at this point.<br/>
<br/>
In one fluid motion, Cloud claimed Sephiroth’s right wrist, slammed it into the wall, and then leaned in to dominate that man’s lips with his own.<br/>
<br/>
<i>It’s over.</i><br/>
<br/>
That lone, massive black wing flapped vehemently in desperation, smashing into the wall and shattering furniture before beating upon Cloud over and over, breaking ribs and pulverizing flesh, but the younger man was relentless in his pursuit, no longer able to be deterred by injury alone. He conquered Sephiroth’s lips with abandon, forcing his tongue in deep and prying the other’s mouth open while zealously depositing the entirety of that malignant liquid down the back of Sephiroth’s throat. His foe spasmed in the venomous embrace, right hand convulsing under Cloud’s grip, wing twisting and twitching in languishing throes, his back arching in misery, a beautiful and baleful sight.<br/>
<br/>
Throughout the struggle, Cloud was an overburdening presence, never once disengaging from Sephiroth, fastening himself to the other so tightly, they were practically fused to ensure that every last drop was consumed by his foe.<br/>
<br/>
His efforts were rewarded by the most sorrowful sound - the softest somber whimper of mournful melancholy eased up low and gently from Sephiroth’s throat before fading. It gave Cloud pause. He had never once heard anything so despondent.<br/>
<br/>
Sephiroth’s entire body relaxed in defeat, giving Cloud a false sense of security because when he finally pulled away from his fallen foe, that wing that had sagged and collapsed upon Cloud’s back suddenly shook to life. Cloud leaned away, putting enough distance from the other that unintentionally gave Sephiroth just the slightest of margins to edge the wing between them and fling Cloud clean off Masamune to collide sharply with the bathroom mirror. That bastard was a master tactician after all and had reserved just enough strength to surprise Cloud with a last-ditch effort.<br/>
<br/>
Darkness briefly met Cloud for the third time that day.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Cloud stirred awake in a pool of his own blood, his soft quivers causing tiny crests to ripple across the once still liquid.<br/>
<br/>
He could not be sure for how long he had lain there and slowly oozed out his life around himself. His injuries had been so severe, he could very well have died, but by the look of his grotesque collection of wounds, and by how his enhanced healing had attempted to mend the intense abuse his body had received, he had at least been unconscious for a few minutes, perhaps longer. It was hard to say.<br/>
<br/>
His mouth tasted of a mixture between sweetness and bitter copper. Cloud coughed and spat on the ground, trying to remove any trace of that cloying tinge. The small puddle of expelled saliva swirled with red and purple, a strangely beautiful but alarming sight. He did not know if he had accidentally swallowed any of the sedatives or not, nor did he know if it was even safe to have held that liquid in his mouth – maybe he absorbed some of it, he was not sure. He knew shit about drugs.<br/>
<br/>
But he did know one important thing at least, well two actually: he was still alive, and he was not strung up somewhere being tortured or molested by that demon.<br/>
<br/>
Eyes groggily peered around for Sephiroth.<br/>
<br/>
<i>Did I get that bastard?</i><br/>
<br/>
Cloud was unable to see the entire room, so destroyed it was from their brutal conflict, but from what he could see, Sephiroth was gone.<br/>
<br/>
<i>What?! He doesn’t run!<br/>
<br/>
Sephiroth doesn’t run. Sephiroth doesn’t flee a battle, at least not one with me, at least not that I’ve seen. Did he truly cut his losses and make a tactical retreat? Was this skirmish truly so different than our others?<br/>
<br/>
Maybe he collapsed outside! He couldn’t have gotten far with that dose I gave him. He swallowed the entire contents; I know he did! I forced it down his damn throat!</i><br/>
<br/>
Cloud needed to retrieve his weapon. He needed to get up. He needed to find Sephiroth and end him quickly. He could feel his window of opportunity shrinking by the second.<br/>
<br/>
Indignance, anger, and anxiety swelled within Cloud and gave him the drive to drag his ruined body towards his downed weapon, but not without tribulation. Forcing his muscles to engage caused skin, tendons, and tissue to not only abrasively drag against the rough and cutting floor, but also jostle the bits of glass and splintered debris that was embedded across his back and appendages. His actions drove those fragments to burrow deeper into his flesh, pooling up fresh blood to roll down his shoulders and sides in small streamlets. Many wounds that were beginning to scab were freshly lacerated and torn open by his erratic and fitful movements. He cried out in terrible pain with every agonizing tug of his body across the hazardously littered ground.<br/>
<br/>
He paused halfway to his destination to give himself some much-needed rest, gasping so heavily that his back heaved from the effort. After a moment, eyes locked ahead with determination, a whimper was sharply exhaled as he stirred back into motion once more.<br/>
<br/>
Twin Stinger seemed to have been left exactly where Cloud had dropped it when he got skewered by Masamune. He reached out with a quivering hand to grab the handle and then slowly and very painfully pulled himself up into a kneeling position, wailing in anguish as he did so, his body nearly rebelling from the effort.<br/>
<br/>
How he was still alive he did not know. His insides had to be shredded.<br/>
<br/>
With a glimmer of hope, he attempted to use the weapon’s slotted materia to heal his wounds as before.<br/>
<br/>
<i>Nothing.</i><br/>
<br/>
<i>Damnit!</i><br/>
<br/>
He was still too weak and drained.<br/>
<br/>
For the next few minutes, all Cloud was able to do was lift the weapon to place the tip into the ground, and with both of his hands, hold the handle and feebly hang his weight upon it. A steady stream of gasping, hitching breaths escaped him as his head dangled low, his shoulders slumped. He regretted spending time kneeling there, just catching his breath from the heavy exertion that had taxed him so tediously, but there was nothing he could do about it. He felt faint and nauseous, blood still lightly dripping from an open, macabre cavity where Masamune had brutally lanced him.<br/>
<br/>
He inhaled a shuddering breath as his hands tightened around the hilt, readying himself to move once again. With a steeling of his resolve and a horrendous cry of misery, he pulled himself up by his arms, dragged his heavy, marred legs beneath him, and then with all his budding strength, finally stood up on unstable legs. He wandered irregularly with heavy, uncoordinated steps as he meandered towards the huge breach in the wall that his own flung body had demolished. The outside rays of the sun poured in from this massive aperture that Cloud sluggishly stumbled across, clumsily dragging Twin Stinger behind him, leaving a thick etching into the wood and then earth as he shambled past the threshold.<br/>
<br/>
His eyes darted around with vexation, looking for any sign of Sephiroth. That curse had to be here, he had to be somewhere, he had to be close, but Cloud was unable to so much as find a single feather drifting in the wind. This could not be… He refused to give up.<br/>
<br/>
A rapidly as Cloud could, he limped his busted body about the entire circumference of the building, looking in every direction, in every alley, under every slanted, discarded sheet of metal, but nothing! Sephiroth was not here!<br/>
<br/>
“Fuck!!!” he screamed bitterly into the sky.<br/>
<br/>
<i>I had him! I had him!! I know I did! I let my guard down at the last second! He tricked me and got away… That bastard got away!<br/>
<br/>
It was all for nothing – all the planning, the perfect set-up, the preparation, my sickening submission to him and yearning for his touch, my performance… my injuries and my suffering – for nothing.<br/>
<br/>
All my efforts wasted.<br/>
<br/>
I’ll never get another chance like that again…</i><br/>
<br/>
He could not help but ease out a sob of frustrated disappointment; he was distraught and shaken at his complete defeat as he listlessly hobbled back towards that pulverized rental room. Seeing the pathetic dwelling from the outside, he mused that he has seen bulldozed buildings that looked more structurally stable.<br/>
<br/>
It dawned on him that he was finally able to access his materia again. With a thought and a bit of labor, his body was engulfed in soothing, shimmering rays of green.<br/>
<br/>
He could only manage a low-level Cure, that was all the potential he had available, but at least it was something. The glass shards and splinters buried in his back magically rose to the surface and exited his skin, sprinkling down en masse upon the ground behind him. His gait became more natural, less hindered and pained; the hole in his gut that had already closed began to scab over and then slough away from freshly tender skin.<br/>
<br/>
He felt a bit better, but the crushing weight on his spirit could not be lifted by a marginal improvement to his physical health. His eyes were downcasted in despondency as he stepped back over the threshold into his devastated room, Twin Stinger dragging behind him without thought for the care of the weapon. Enraged and resentful, Cloud spitefully threw the blade to the side, tired of carrying its bulky load; it crashed into a pile of already ruined rubble.<br/>
<br/>
With a troubled sigh, he made his way around another pile of debris towards the corner of the small room where the bed was. He was not sure if he could manage to sleep normally, it was far more likely he might just collapse and pass out on top of the mattress – he felt absolutely exhausted beyond measure. The adrenaline had long since been sapped from his body, leaving only an aching void, a myriad of distressed, fatigued muscles, and a plethora of raw injury varieties across nearly every inch of his flesh.<br/>
<br/>
But all that changed in a flash when a fresh surge of adrenaline rushed through his rapidly accelerating pulse the moment his eyes caught a shocking scene. Cloud gasped so hard he choked before he dived into the wreckage mound that he threw Twin Stinger into, clawing hastily into the filth, ripping away chunks of concrete with his bare hands, rummaging his blade out as a man possessed.<br/>
<br/>
With hands uncontrollably trembling with anxiety and nervous excitement, he seized the hilt of his weapon before slowly, and very cautiously, began stalking towards the corner of the room where, much to his consternation and awe, lying sprawled out on the bed, with unresponsive eyes dull and glazed over, supine and motionless – unarmed and helpless – was Sephiroth!<br/>
<br/>
<i>The only place I didn’t look was on the fucking bed?!<br/>
<br/>
How did this even happen?!</i><br/>
<br/>
Cloud was not the most brilliant sleuth when it came to figuring out the chain of events, but by analyzing the disturbances in the newly scattered dust, dirt, and fragmental bits that fell from their battle, it was quite clear that Sephiroth had staggered forwards after flinging Cloud into the bathroom mirror, then turned to face him before careening backward and collapsing upon the bed.<br/>
<br/>
He could not believe it, and in his hesitation, he uneasily inched towards his fallen foe with fidgety restlessness, weapon at the ready. As he drew closer, he was able to notice a few subtle idiosyncrasies that caught his attention which he did not notice prior. Sephiroth’s eyes, though pupils were blown and unfocused, lightly shimmered periodically with consciousness.<br/>
<br/>
<i>He is still aware; he is just heavily sedated.</i><br/>
<br/>
Sephiroth’s gloved fingers were fully relaxed and curled by his side, but the index finger on his left hand gently twitched a single time as Cloud drew near. That strikingly beautiful wing of dark cruelty was still present, and it swayed slightly while slowly spreading its elegantly long flight feathers up against the wall where it had been pinned by Sephiroth’s own position and predicament.<br/>
<br/>
<i>Is Sephiroth so debilitated that he can no longer move?</i><br/>
<br/>
Cloud still was not close enough to land a killing blow, taking this unusual situation very guardedly, but he was close enough to smack the sole of Sephiroth’s boot with Twin Stinger hard enough to get an appraisal of his condition. The quick but powerful jab carved a track into the thick, black rubber that coated the bottom of the boot with more than enough force to jolt the leg astray. Fearful and reflexive, Cloud jumped back and heavily brandished his weapon in battle stance, expecting some sort of retaliation, but not only was there no reaction, there was zero muscle resistance in Sephiroth’s leg – it just listlessly flopped as dead weight.<br/>
<br/>
<i>I… I can’t… believe it. It worked.</i><br/>
<br/>
Confounded and bewildered but with a slowly growing confidence, he took measured steps towards Sephiroth, still having difficulty believing that his foe was truly so powerless as Cloud had never seen him in such a fallen and disabled state. Looking at Sephiroth now, he appeared so serene and gentle as if merely resting peacefully, but anyone peering upon the wayward scene would know better, would know that there was no peace here – only tension, only anxiety – and it was substantial and palpable within the room, enough to suffocate on.<br/>
<br/>
<i>End him.</i><br/>
<br/>
With irregular, distressed breathing and quivering, unsteady arms did Cloud ready his weapon over Sephiroth, hovering the heavy weapon a mere few inches above his foe’s chest. His mind spasmed. A collection of vivid images detailing preferred finishing strikes flashed behind his eyes like a grotesque and gruesome stage performance.<br/>
<br/>
He heavily winced with a grimace when his mind suggested a decapitation for optimal assurance of death.<br/>
<br/>
<i>No! Something else…</i><br/>
<br/>
The thought of severing Sephiroth’s head was too abhorrent; a tiny glimmer that still respected the man was ever-present deep in Cloud’s subconscious.<br/>
<br/>
Cloud cringed with the second suggestion: a single, perpendicular blow to the torso, severing him in half across his chest.<br/>
<br/>
Destroying Sephiroth’s likeness bothered him, and the idea of the first blow failing to kill him and having to repetitively hack at him like a frenzied butcher upset Cloud far more than he thought it would.<br/>
<br/>
Finally, a suggestion he could work with: a downward thrust straight through the chest cavity, puncturing the heart.<br/>
<br/>
Cloud nodded in approval. If he kept the tip of the blade parallel to the plane of Sephiroth’s body, Twin Stinger would sink into tissue and bone in a clean, instant, and merciful killing blow without the threat of cutting the body in half, keeping his foe’s likeness intact.<br/>
<br/>
With a deep, readying inhale, Cloud solidified his stance, repositioning his feet until his posture felt strong and stable enough to lift Twin Stinger over his head while twisting the handle in his hands so that the blade would penetrate the other's chest as he planned.<br/>
<br/>
He lingered longer than he should; he could not stop himself from taking small, hesitant, nervous, and guilt-ridden glances at Sephiroth’s face, a face wholly relaxed and unexpressive, eyes heavily lidded, hazy, unmoving, and distantly gazing straight ahead. But they glimmered…<br/>
<br/>
Sephiroth knew.<br/>
<br/>
Though Cloud was removed from the other’s direct line of sight, Sephiroth would be able to see him out of peripheral vision and realize that Cloud was readying his death blow.<br/>
<br/>
He felt a pang of sorrow; was it cruel for Sephiroth to watch his own demise?<br/>
<br/>
<i>You are making too many concessions for him.</i><br/>
<br/>
Cloud lowered the tip of his weapon to rest on the ground next to him as he disengaged his right hand to reach across Sephiroth and gently nudge his jaw, causing his foe’s head to smoothly roll to the right; it settled calmly with a still silence. Now all he would see is the wall and a huge, black wing pinned up against it.<br/>
<br/>
With an uneasy and apprehensive sigh, Cloud once again readied himself over Sephiroth’s helplessly lying form, positioning his blade overhead while estimating the perfect point of entry. His hands began to shake with misgivings, his stance faltering with hesitation. The breath he had been holding was suddenly let out in a sharp gasp as he stumbled backward to lean up against some broken furniture. Twin Stinger was lowered to rest by his side once again as a right hand rubbed the back of his neck with his dawdling reluctance to act.<br/>
<br/>
<i>Just… just hold on…</i><br/>
<br/>
<i>I’ll kill you; I will! I just need a minute. Just… give me a minute.</i></p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em> I’ll be right back, you bastard, and then I’ll kill you for sure. </em>
</p><p>Cloud scowled in deep frustration and sullen petulance as he clumsily staggered away from his helpless foe and towards what remained of the bathroom, dragging his weapon tiredly behind him. He hoped that some cool water on his face might help clear his mind and ease himself into the important and necessary task ahead, but by the look of the dilapidated sink, it would be a miracle if it still functioned. </p><p>He peered up at the broken mirror that imperfectly refracted his miserable and wretched appearance upon shattered glass fragments that were smeared and splattered with his blood. Cloud was pathetically repulsive — his entire chest coated with all manner of squalor — filth was caked upon him in layers so thick that dried portions that once clung to his skin instead fractured and dryly flaked away like sludge encrusted reptilian scales.</p><p>
  <em> Disgusting. </em>
</p><p>Perhaps wiping some of this foulness off would also clean his muddled mental state.</p><p>He could not help but snort when he turned the faucet handle and was rewarded with a sputtering stream of discontinuous water.</p><p>
  <em> It still works, but barely. </em>
</p><p>A dangling washcloth was removed from a rack that hung precariously from a single remaining screw. Its white, fluffy cotton was the only thing left pure and unmarred in the room, but its grime virginity was abruptly taken as it was plunged into the sink of water, wrung, and then scrubbed across the entirety of Cloud’s scabrous chest. Large droplets of discolored globules were dislodged from his skin and plopped into the water basin below. </p><p>The cracked areas of the sink where Sephiroth’s fingertips once breached through porcelain gave an outlet for muddy, crimson-tainted wastewater to pour out in small streamlets and overflow upon the floor. His face, the back of his neck, and any other bare patch of skin he could reach were given washing attention; and by the time he was finished, the remaining water in the bowl was nearly inky in appearance.</p><p>Cloud slowly eased away from the sink and up to his full height, feeling surprisingly refreshed and like a human again instead of a dirt-covered bandersnatch.</p><p>With a confident gleam to his eyes, he stalked back to the bed where his nemesis still lay.</p><p>
  <em> Now you die, Sephiroth. </em>
</p><p>But as he drew close to the other once again, his fierce killing intent started to wane, and hesitation prickled him like a nagging itch.</p><p>Sephiroth’s massive black wing that was pressed up against the wall briefly trembled as if under duress, twitching like a snared bird, and suddenly, a vision from Cloud’s childhood flashed behind his eyes.</p><p>
  <em> “It’s hurt, Cloud! Help it!” a young Tifa passionately exclaimed. </em>
</p><p><em> She was kneeling next to Cloud who held a tiny and injured blackbird cupped in his hands </em> — <em> a bird that he had just cruelly thrown a rock at. </em></p><p>
  <em> “What happened?” she asked. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “I… threw a rock at it…” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Why?!” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “I… I don’t know! I guess I just… wanted to see what would happen.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “That was really mean!” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “I know! And I’m sorry, little blackbird, I’m sorry!”  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Tears blurred his vision as he looked down upon the helpless, quivering animal, its small wings spasming with pain and fear. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> For a few more moments, Cloud and Tifa watched on hopelessly as its tiny body convulsed erratically until it lay forever still in Cloud’s hands.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Cloud broke down in fervid sobbing. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “I’m sorry… It’s all my fault…” </em>
</p><p>Cloud emerged from his vision with a sudden jolt of sorrow before he viciously rejected its premise. In that memory, he had been a young, foolish kid doing young, foolish kid shit that he regretted.</p><p>But right now was different.</p><p>
  <em> Sephiroth is not an innocent bird!! He is a murdering bastard and deserves to die! </em>
</p><p>The memory had jarred him, but his bitter vitriol was quick to flare back up as he readied his weapon. But as he was in the process of positioning it over his foe’s chest to land the finishing blow, another suppressed memory streaked across his vision and he was taken to his childhood once again.</p><p>
  <em> “Package for you, hun,” Claudia said as she handed Cloud a long, cardboard tube. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Cloud was filled with so much excitement that he could not contain the high giggle that exploded from him as he quickly claimed the uniquely wrapped package before scurrying to his room. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> He wasted no time tearing off the brown paper that enclosed his precious treasure before popping off the sealed, plastic cap containing the cherished content. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Though Cloud had been very aggressive in removing the packaging, he treated what was rolled within as if it were made of fine and delicate spider’s silk. While nervously holding his breath, he carefully slid out the curled paper and unrolled it to reveal the Shinra special collector’s edition poster of General Sephiroth that Cloud saved up three months of his allowance to afford. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> He spread it out to its entirety upon the floor before he backed up to sit down on his bed, kicking his feet back and forth happily as he gazed in awe at the poster’s brilliance. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I’m going to be strong one day — strong like him. He is everything that I want to be. </em>
</p><p>Cloud felt like the floor gave out underneath him as the memory crashed and spat him out leaving him overwhelmingly despondent, dismayed, and disillusioned. Twin Stinger wavered unsteadily in his hands.</p><p>
  <em> I did respect him, I did… that’s why this hurts so much because he took everything from me. </em>
</p><p>“You ruined my life…” Cloud said somberly.</p><p>He knew Sephiroth could still hear him.</p><p>“I would have done nearly anything for you,” Cloud whispered. “I revered you like an idol.”</p><p>“The pain I felt after being so completely betrayed by the one person that I admired the most…”</p><p>“It was…”</p><p>
  <em> -grievous- </em>
</p><p>
  <em> -piercing- </em>
</p><p>
  <em> -wretched- </em>
</p><p>“…agony,” he softly lamented.</p><p>Cloud brought up a hand to investigate the wetness on his cheeks, only to smear bitter tears across his fingertips.</p><p>He wondered what that horrible morose sound was, but then realized it was himself weeping. His nerves were shot. The small window of calm after such an intense degree of vicious fighting and adrenaline surging had caused his mountain of repressed emotions to slam into and cascade from him like a remorseful dam breakage.  </p><p>He tried to prod the burning fire in him <em> — </em> his anger and resentment <em> — </em> as he angled his blade down towards Sephiroth, but soon the stoked embers cooled once again by his mournful tears, leaving Cloud feeling hollow, empty, and dispirited.</p><p>
  <em> I can’t… I just… can’t. </em>
</p><p>Emotionally defeated, Cloud no longer had the will nor the energy to continue his pursuit.</p><p>His plan was abandoned as he turned from the bed and trudged towards what remained of the room’s table to collect his belongings.  </p><p>
  <em> Stop crying… stop crying… you’re so fucking weak. </em>
</p><p>But trying to force himself to quell such powerful, negative emotions only made his vision blurrier as tears shimmied free and pattered upon the table like raindrops. A few plunged upon the wrinkled paper that had been the catalyst of this endeavor. With hostile anxiety, Cloud seized that paper and irrationally ripped it to pieces before he leaned upon the shaky table with bubbling spite.</p><p>
  <em> So, that’s it then? You just going to head out? Having nothing to show for all you’ve suffered here today? </em>
</p><p>His shoulders slumped and he sighed gloomily while wiping his tear-stricken face, surrendering to the prospect that nothing at all was gained. </p><p>
  <em> Alright, so you didn’t kill him. Fine. But is there anything you can do to give yourself a tactical advantage for when he undoubtedly comes after you? </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I’m not going to hurt him. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> But what about his equipment? </em>
</p><p>
  <em> He can summon Masamune. There is no point. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> But is that everything? </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Oh… </em>
</p><p>Cloud absentmindedly wiped away the last remaining residue of moisture from his cheeks with the back of his hand as pointed thoughts gave him a spark of initiative. </p><p>
  <em> Take his materia-slotted belt buckle. </em>
</p><p>He paused with perked interest while considering the suggestion — the idea infusing a hint of boldness into him that he was not expecting. </p><p>
  <em> Mm… He definitely used Firaga on me, among other materia-based skills, in a previous battle. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> But he can use many other abilities that I don’t really understand and are likely not materia-based. Is it even worth taking his buckle? </em>
</p><p>
  <em> It is a small concession, but it is something. Do you want to eat Firaga again? </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Point taken.  </em>
</p><p>Cloud left his sword and equipment upon the table before he walked cautiously back towards Sephiroth while eyeing him in a scrutinizing manner. The man still appeared completely sedated, his head still lying in the position that Cloud had positioned it. His breathing was deep and slow. The wing continued to tremble periodically but that was the only movement Cloud detected.</p><p>The metallic buckle he aimed to steal was decorated with what looked like an exotic wing motif and accessorized with dangling metal feathers. It was slightly off-centered, resting on Sephiroth’s hip and attached on either side by two different types of leather belts. The belts wrapped multiple times around Sephiroth’s waist and Cloud was at a loss on how he was going to remove it.</p><p>The circular buckle itself housed two yellow command materia and one green magic material, while the hanging feathers slotted a total of three green magic materia and one purple independent materia. Cloud was infinitely curious about what types of materia Sephiroth thought were vital to his combat prowess, and he looked forward to finding out when he was far away from here.</p><p>He felt his cheeks flush a little as he slowly reached his hands across Sephiroth’s waist and claimed either side of the buckle, moving it from side to side as he analyzed how to unfasten it. After awkwardly fumbling around and letting out a frustrated curse, he realized that the belts were fused to the buckle, and the only way to remove it was to unwind the whole wound-up coil. The belts had to be connected under his body somewhere. With his face feeling increasingly feverish, Cloud slid his right hand under the small of Sephiroth’s back, clumsily palming around, searching for where the two belts were linked.</p><p>With his embarrassment climbing, his mind spasmed in annoyance.</p><p>
  <em> Gaia… It looks and feels like I’m groping him. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Can’t be helped though, not unless you want to waste more time and cut it off of him. </em>
</p><p>Cloud’s other hand joined the search.</p><p>
  <em> Damnit… </em>
</p><p>Finally, while leaning over Sephiroth and with both of his hands dug beneath Sephiroth’s back, Cloud’s fingers caught the latch, and with an eager flick, the belts began to further loosen, falling away from his waist, and unraveled from him as if they had been wound string around a spool. The materia-slotted buckle was promptly yanked free <em> — </em> those belts following suit to dangle from the buckle in Cloud’s hands like vanquished snakes.</p><p>With victory nestled tightly in his fingers, a worried glance was given to his foe once again, steadily watching for any retaliation or response, but there was nothing except rhythmic breathing and a gentle glimmering of subdued, slitted emeralds.</p><p>
  <em> He looks identical to how he did on the poster. He hasn’t aged or changed his attire in all of these years. </em>
</p><p>Suddenly, Cloud nervously swallowed with a grandiose idea.</p><p>
  <em> Chances of removing the pauldrons? Without his armor, he would be slightly more manageable in battle. </em>
</p><p>Emboldened by his recent success, Cloud gave his daring scheme more thought than he would normally have under any other circumstances.</p><p>
  <em> Ambitious, difficult, but not impossible. </em>
</p><p>The buckle was set aside before Cloud tensely loomed over Sephiroth’s inactive form. His long, imposing yet immaculate black leather coat was only held together by one tiny fastener above his waist.</p><p>With his throat releasing a barely audible and apprehensive shudder, Cloud hooked two fingers under the latch and pried it open with a pass of his thumb. The coat immediately fell open to either side of Sephiroth’s torso with only marginal assistance. Cloud gently nudged the lapels away from the abdomen guard that was nearly identical to his own — it even had the same indented SOLDIER insignia.</p><p>
  <em> So… stripping him is your answer? </em>
</p><p>
  <em> There is nothing sexual about this. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> You’re sweating though. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I am just going to release the pauldrons, and then I am fucking out of here. </em>
</p><p>Steadying his breathing against his speedily increasing blood pressure, Cloud’s hands keenly located the buckles holding the guard in place. Unlike when he clumsily fumbled around for the belt fasteners, here he was very familiar with how the guard was built and functioned, making its removal far more straightforward.</p><p>Cloud hesitated as his fingers curled around the loose ends of the abdomen guard, his eyes wavering with indiscretion and shy reservation before he slowly pulled up upon the thick, leather plate. It lifted easily away from Sephiroth’s skin; the black straps that crisscrossed Sephiroth’s chest were attached to the guard and were also lifted away as Cloud raised it up and over Sephiroth’s head, completely exposing the man’s magnificent, alabaster chest.</p><p>This was step one of a two-step process, but the pauldrons were all but forgotten as Cloud stared open-eyed at the divine creature sprawled out underneath him.</p><p>With heart rapidly palpitating, he delicately placed his hand upon the exposed skin of Sephiroth’s rhythmically undulating abdomen and slowly fanned his fingers out across the velvety surface. A soft gasp exited him in surprise. The sensation was overwhelmingly pleasurable.</p><p>
  <em> You need to stop right there. </em>
</p><p>His thoughts were sharp with a glaring warning.</p><p>
  <em> There is no conclusion to this that won’t end very badly for you. </em>
</p><p>Cloud’s trembling hand was removed from Sephiroth, his breath quivering with unsatisfied lust. Touching the other's skin was a transcendent experience, an unnatural attraction lulled him to complacency and seduced him to consider partaking again in such sinful, forbidden pleasures.</p><p>
  <em> There’s still time to walk away…  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> You need to leave now. </em>
</p><p>The yearning was painful, the need to touch the other was gripping and irresistible; spellbound and enthralled, Cloud placed his hand back upon Sephiroth but this time he slid it up between pectorals and let it linger as he reveled in the beautiful symphony of sensations. Sephiroth’s steady heartbeat was slow, powerful, and hypnotic; his flawless, ivory skin was silken, warm, and angelic; his chiseled, majestic musculature was magnificently defined with every ridge and valley impeccably and masterfully carved — this was the embodiment of perfection.</p><p>
  <em> He’s fully awake; he knows what you are doing! </em>
</p><p>
  <em> This is the worst idea in the history of worst ideas. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> You don't even know how long he’ll be subdued. At any moment, he might stir and seize you! </em>
</p><p>Undeterred and transfixed, Cloud’s other hand pressed up against the side of Sephiroth’s ribcage, running fingers parallel between the knolls before he slid fingertips across the rolling surface, delighting in the variety of textures.</p><p>
  <em> Can you at least commit to killing him afterward? </em>
</p><p>
  <em> No, I just want to touch him, just a little… I’ll stop way before he regains himself. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Fine. Then understand this: there is no hell you can crawl into, no hole you can bury yourself in, no galaxy you can escape off to, where he can’t hunt you down and find you! </em>
</p><p>He stalled out of trepidation, but Cloud's pining eagerness soon completely overwrote his mind’s panic. He moved very close to Sephiroth, climbing carefully on the bed, and positioning himself until he was lying flush upon the other. His much smaller frame easily rested on top of that broad, robust build. With so much of Sephiroth’s skin contacting his own, he quivered with calming pleasure as little hairs across his entire body stood up with the thrill of such blissful stimulation.</p><p>
  <em> He’ll use this against you until the end of time. </em>
</p><p>Cloud pulled in his arms to tuck them under himself which pinned them up against Sephiroth’s chest, his fingers slowly curling and uncurling against the other’s perfectly defined abdomen. Cloud’s eyes glazed over with contentment as he quietly reveled in the gentle rolls of Sephiroth’s breathing; the rhythmic undulating motions were soothing and lulled Cloud into trance-like complacency. After a moment of adjustments, Cloud matched the man’s steady diaphragm movements with his own so that they breathed together as one.</p><p>
  <em> Last argument: this is morally bankrupt. </em>
</p><p><em> Nothing’s going to happen. I’m not going to do anything, </em> Cloud justified in his mind. </p><p>
  <em> I’m just… I just… I want to experience this. That’s all. Just a few more minutes, and then I’ll leave. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Just a few more minutes... </em>
</p><p>With a soft sigh of fulfillment, and with a long denied and suppressed desire, Cloud gently rubbed his cheek up against Sephiroth’s chest, Cloud’s pupils dilating with euphoria before his eyes hazily unfocused with gratification – the edge of his vision glinting green.</p><p>That terrifyingly beautiful wing quivered. A few sparse feathers jostled free and floated down to rest on Cloud’s back. </p><p>His once alerted mind was now wholly pacified. </p><p>
  <em>…</em>
</p><p>
  <em> There are far worse hills to die upon. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> ... </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Bliss… </em>
</p><p>...</p><p>
  <em> ... </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Reunion. </em>
</p>
  </div></div>
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